Now in its 32nd year, the 2014 edition of Canadian Music Week happens in Toronto from May 6 - 10. The festival/conference (not unlike SXSW) has released its initial line-up which includes M.I.A., Tegan & Sara, Ellie Goulding, Television, Neko Case, OFF!, The King Khan and BBQ Show, No Age, Woods and more. Wristbands and festival badges are on sale now.

On the conference side of things, speakers include deadmau5, Nile Rodgers, Amanda Palmer, Bruce Cockburn and more. The full Canadian Music Week 2014 initial line-up is listed, along with a flyer, below...

Woods will return with a new album, With Light and With Love, out April 15 via Woodsist. You can stream the Dylan-esque track "Leaves Like Glass" below.

Shortly after the album's release, Woods will be heading out on tour, including a stop at Austin Psych Fest and finishing up with an NYC hometown show at Bowery Ballroom on May 16. No word on tickets at this time but you can keep checking Ticketmaster.

Woods bassist Kevin Morby, who released the very nice solo album Harlem River last year, will play NYC next week with Cate Le Bon at Mercury Lounge which is sold out. All dates are listed, along with the track stream, album art and tracklist, below.

You may remember Malmö, Sweden's This is Head from their debut, The Album ID, which came out earlier this year. The band have a new EP coming out next week (11/12) titled Repetition Radio via Adrian Recordings. The video is a play on the underwater cover art to their full-length, both of which were made by Jasper Berg. We're got the premiere of that clip and you can watch it below.

The band also recently covered Woods' "Born to Lose," taking the minimal, folky original and turning it into a krauty, almost dancey number. You can stream that below too. The band played a few North America shows back in March when they were here for SXSW and they have announced they'll be back in February for a more extensive tour, though details are still TBA at the moment. They do have a few dates in Sweden coming up, though, and those are listed along with the video and track streams, below.

Kevin Morby, who co-fronts The Babies and plays bass in Woods, will release his first solo album, Harlem River, on November 26 via Woodsist. The album was made in Los Angeles (where he currently lives) with producer Rob Barbato (The Babies, Bleached) and features appearances by White Fence's Tim Presley and Cate Le Bon. The latter sings on languid and lovely "Slow Train" which you can stream, along with another track from the album, below.

The Fresh & Onlys are back with a new EP titled Soothsayer, which is out September 24 via Mexican Summer. (That's the cover art above.) The EP is the band's most full-bodied production yet, but still full of the odd twists and turns the band is known for. You can stream the EP's title track over at Stereogum. As mentioned, F&Os are playing the Woodsist Fest in Pioneertown, CA next month and the band will be touring with Woods on the West Coast leading up to that. All tour dates are below.

Wymond Miles

Meahwhile, Fresh & Onlys guitarist Wymond Miles has a new solo album, Cut Yourself Free, that will be out October 17 via Sacred Bones. Before that, he'll release a new 7" single, "Passion Plays," on September 17. Wymond's distinctive post-punk-influenced guitar style is one of the things that makes F&Os so distinctive and his solo work -- like last year's debut -- definitely leans more towards that. You can stream "Passion Plays" and check out a video trailer for the album below.

Wymond will be opening for Crocodiles on their fall tour including the NYC show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 23. Tickets to that are still available. All tour dates are listed below.

Wearing a shiny silver dress (while choir wore mostly blue) Bjork sang and moved across the stage with a great deal of passion and energy. Behind her, three screens displayed imagery that included an exploding star, the moon, ZX Spectrum-looking polygons, and even a sped up clip of a seal carcass being consumed by starfish and sea slugs underwater (read: slightly unsettling). The latter stood out, for obvious reasons, and close-ups of the starfish seemed to show a synchronized pulse with the music. Another highlight was the giant tesla coil enclosure that descended from the stage rathers during "Thunderbolt," creating huge sparks each time the synthesizer was played. After each song Bjork politely said "Thank you!" in her strong Icelandic accent which had everyone smiling and laughing. In the distance, a storm was approaching but appeared to be another special effect being incorporated in an already elaborate performance. Unfortunately, it was real, and reached the festival before Bjork could fully complete her set. - [BV Chicago]

The 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival kicked off last night (7/19) in Chicago's Union Park. A more gently paced day than what's in store today (7/20) and Sunday (7/21), Friday featured a headlining set from Bjork (which was cut short due to a storm), plus Wire, Joanna Newsom, Angel Olson,Mikal Cronin, Mac Demarco, Woods, Trash Talk, a newly-blonde Frankie Rose, and Daughn Gibson. Pictures from Friday are in this post.

For more on day one of Pitchfork 2013 (review and another set of pics), visit BV Chicago where you'll also find a preview of day 2 and day 3. More pictures from day 1 are below.

As mentioned, Chicago's Pitchfork Music Festival is returning to Union Park from July 19-21 with sets from Bjork, Joanna Newsom, Belle & Sebastian, R. Kelly, Solange, Rustie, Low, The Breeders, Swans, Savages, Merchandise, Julia Holter, KEN mode, White Lung, TNGHT, Evian Christ, Waxahatchee, El-P, Killer Mike, and more across three stages (Red, Blue, and Green). The set times for the festival have now been announced, and you can check out the full day-by-day schedule below.

As mentioned, the closing night concert of the Big Sur Brooklyn Bridge Festival is happening May 19 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Phillip Glass, Van Dyke Parks and Friends. To make the evening even more tempting, Real Estate (playing a stripped-down set) have now been added to bill. Tickets for that show are still available.

Speaking of, Real Estate will also be playing in the actual Big Sur for the 2013 Woodsist Festival which happens at the Henry Miller Library on September 22 & 23. The sold-out two-day event also features Foxygen (who have three shows in NYC next week), The Fresh and Onlys, Peaking Lights, The Babies and more.

There is also a Woodsist Fest date onSeptember 28 at Pappy & Harriets in Pioneer Town, CA with Woods, Real Estate, Fresh & Onlys, Parquet Courts and more on the bill. Tickets to that show are still available.

And in other news, Alex Bleeker & the Freaks (who also play both Woodsist fests) will release their second album, How Far Away, via Woodsist on May 28. You can stream a track from the LP, "Leave on the Light," below. They'll play a NYC record release show at Knitting Factory on the same day (5/28) with Spectre Folk and King Cyst. Tickets are on sale now.

All Alex Bleeker & the Freaks tour dates are listed, along with Woodsist Fest line-ups and song stream, below.

Brooklyn's Woods will be spending most of the summer on tour and to commemorate the jaunt they'll be releasing a new single via their Woodist label. The b-side of that 7" is a very faithful cover of The Kinks' "God's Children" which originally appeared on the soundtrack to the 1971 penile transplant comedy, Percy. You can stream it below.

The North American leg of Woods' tour wraps up here in NYC for a show at Bowery Ballroom on July 27 with openers Alex Bleeker and the Freaks. No word on advance tickets but you can keep checking Ticketmaster if you like.

Woods' last NYC show was at Music Hall of Williamsburg back in November. All upcoming tour dates are listed below.

Primavera Sound have announced their 2013 lineup, set to go down on May 22-26 in Barcelona, Spain. The announcement came via an animated video and artists performing include Phoenix, The Postal Service, Blur, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, My Bloody Valentine, Tame Impala, Wu-Tang Clan, Dead Can Dance, Grizzly Bear, The Knife, and loads more. Current lineup is below along with the flyer and video...

One of the biggest, most genuine music fans I know is Andy from Ludlow Street indie rock club Cake Shop. He's an indefatigable listener and always turns me onto new stuff. Here we've got his "best of 2012 and live from cakeshop and recorded" which is topped by Parquet Courts' fantastic debut album, Light Up Gold. You can check out the full list of "21 AMAZING EXPERIENCES" below.

Andy is also a great maker of mixes, and I stil put in one he made for the Cake Shop/Slumberland 2009 SXSW showcase from time to time. Over at the Cake Shop blog, he posted a 2012 mix loaded with great stuff that you can download above and see the tracklist below. Highly recommend. Cake Shop had a successful Pledge Music campaign this year, signed a new 10-year lease, survived the Great Sandy Blackout, and I can't wait to see more bands there in 2013 (like maybe Obits on January 19) and beyond.

Andy from Cake Shop's Best of 2012 list and mixtape tracklist are below...

UK indie pop outfit Veronica Falls, who are touring in 2013 with great new bandCheatahs, just spoke to us about their ten favorite things of 2012 music, film, and TV-wise. It was singer/guitarist James Hoare, specifically, who sent his list over, and he really likes Girls. He's got the single for "My Ma" by the now-defunct band, the solo album by frontman Christopher Owens (which actually comes out next year, but we'll let it slide), AND the television show of the same name all in his top 10 list. He's also got fellow indie poppers Mac DeMarco and Woods, and reveals his classic rock soft spot by including the new Rolling Stones song.

Veronica Falls' tour with Cheatahs hits NYC on March 8 at Bowery Ballroom with Cold Showers and tickets for that show are still available.

"My Morning Jacket was formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky by singer, songwriter and guitarist Jim James (real name: James Olliges Jr). The original line-up also included three members of the Shelbyville emo-punk band Winter Death Club; namely John McQuade (later known as Johnny Quaid - guitar and vocals), Tom Blankenship (later known as Two Tone Tommy - bass) and J. Roberts (later known as J. Glenn - drums)." [Wikipedia]

MMJ bassist Tom Blankenship (who also recently helped out with Brooklyn Rock Lottery) gave us his list of Top 10 LPs of 2012. While it includes year-end list mainstays Frank Ocean and Alt-J, there are some surprises as well. You can check out his year-end picks below.

UK music magazine Uncut put out their list of the top 75 albums of 2012. The top ten leans pretty heavy on long-running '60s/'70s survivors who put out new albums this year, but plenty of the list-topping regulars from newer acts are on there too, along with a few interesting surprises (Sun Araw, M Geddes Gengras & the Congos!). You can check out the full list below.

"Bend Beyond" and also [Woods]'s last two albums -- "Sun and Shade," from last year, and "At Echo Lake" from 2010 -- have reflected a real leap forward for this band, which is fluent in 1960s-style psychedelic-edged folk and rock. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that the last song to play over the house speakers before Woods took the stage... was by Kippington Lodge, a British psych-pop band that was one of Nick Lowe's first outfits -- but probably not. -[NY Times]

Woods played Music Hall of Williamsburg on 11/3 with Widowspeak and Purling Hiss, the final show of a their fall tour that included a short stint opening for The Walkmen. Look for Woods to take a bit of R&R before hopping on a plane to Australia in the new year. Tour dates, promoting the spankin' new Bend Beyond, are below.

If you missed the MHOW appearance (or were there and would like to experience it again), NYCTaper has the whole thing in audio form for download. More pics from the show are below.

Today is also the last Warm-up at MoMA PS 1, featuring Thom Yorke's Atoms for Peace on DJ dute, plus Holy Other, Maria Minerva, Rustie, and Justin Strauss spinning as well. It's sold-out but there should be some tickets at the door if you get there when doors open at noon.

We also recommend checking out Sweden's Holograms who will be at 285 Kent tonight with locals Herzog Rising and Heavenly Beat. Check out the brand new video for Holograms' "Fever" below.

Or you could go see Italian glam punks Giuda (pronounced "Judah" if you were wondering) who will be at St. Vitus. The crowd for their show at Cake Shop last week went absolutely nuts, this will be a fun show... and how often do you get to see an Italian glam band?

Or if black metal is more your thing, Minnesota's False are making a rare stop in NYC for a show at Acheron.

Woods will release their new album, Bend Beyond, on September 18 via the band's own Woodsist Records. You can stream two of its tracks, "Cali in a Cup" and "Size Meets the Sound," along with the cover art and tracklist, below.

Woods, whose touring lineup now includes drummer Aaron Neveu of Mmoss (who Woods recently toured with), will be supporting the new album with a tour. They in Europe as we speak and upon returning home later this month, they'll go on a run with The Walkmen. It seems likely that more dates will be announced, because after that there are only a few more shows currently scheduled, including a NYC show, which happens on November 3 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with fellow Brooklyn band Widowspeak (who they shared a bill with in May) and Purling Hiss. Tickets for that show go on sale Tuesday (9/4) at noon. All currently known Woods dates are listed below.

You won't have to wait that long to catch Widowspeak in their hometown of Brooklyn though. They play Brooklyn Bowl on September 27 with Vensaire and Hard Bop. That show is free with RSVP or $5 at the door.

West Coast janglers Craft Spells are heading East next month to play Cincinatti's Midpoint Music Festival (September 27 - 29) which also features the likes of Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen, Dirty Projectors, Sleigh Bells and many more. Tickets for the fest are still available and the whole line-up is at the bottom of this post.

Before the festival, Craft Spells will be in NYC for a show at Glasslands on September 24 with new new romantics Ice Choir. Tickets for that show are on sale now.